FRANCIS JOSEPH

born Aug. 18, 1830, Schloss Schnbrunn, near Vienna died Nov. 21, 1916, Schloss Schnbrunn German Franz Joseph emperor of Austria (18481916) and king of Hungary (18671916), who divided his empire into the Dual Monarchy, in which Austria and Hungary coexisted as equal partners. In 1879 he formed an alliance with Prussian-led Germany, and in 1914 his ultimatum to Serbia led Austria and Germany into World War I. Additional reading The most important biographies are: E.C. Corti, Vom Kind zum Kaiser (1950), Mensch und Herrscher (1952), and with H. Sokol, Der alte Kaiser (1955), popularly written; and Joseph Redlich, Kaiser Franz Joseph von sterreich (1928; Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, 1929), still considered the best biography. See also Edward Crankshaw, The Fall of the House of Habsburg (1963); O. Jszi, The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy (1929); and Robert A. Kann, The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy, 18481918, 2 vol. (1950, reprinted 1964), the best presentation on this subject.